Today was another one of those days that occasionally come along when the NCVs are able to sit back and be entertained whilst feeling that they are doing something useful. This week 13 NCVs and a couple of other AONB related people joined in with the Orchard Management Training day, run by horticultural expert Barry Potter and hosted by Ripon Walled garden. For those readers who have still to discover the delights of this venue click here for some information.
It was a beautiful autumn morning - just the right time of the year to visit an orchard as the fruit trees were laden with apples (although a little early in the season to do any practical work).
We started by spending an hour in the orchard discussing the attention was needed by just one of the trees before visiting the cafe for morning coffee (lots of cakes available). This was followed by an informative presentation and a delicious lunch.
During the afternoon we returned to the orchard to find out more about how to tackle different maintenance jobs such as pruning and grafting.Needless to say - we tried out some of the fruit!
The day was rounded off back at the cafe for tea and a look at the various tools that Barry uses.
Here is a link to the notes I made on the day for anyone interested, and here is a link to some additional notes provided by Barry Potter.
Some useful links to information about orchards and orchard management include:
Barry started off with an introduction on the verandah
of the cafe overlooking part of the garden.
Then we were off to the orchard....
...under the apple avenue....
....and past the trays of fruit.
We started by spending an hour in the orchard discussing the attention was needed by just one of the trees before visiting the cafe for morning coffee (lots of cakes available). This was followed by an informative presentation and a delicious lunch.
Barry pointed out which branches need to be removed...
...then demonstrated how to do a bridging graft to
strengthen a tree trunk if the bark is grazed by sheep.
Civilised surroundings for our coffee and lunch breaks.
The presentation was shown in the multi-million pound cine-plex.
Well - in the cafe with a screen made from a sheet
and blackout curtains made from weed suppressant.
"Now - it's very important that you know your buds."
Barry pointed out which would grow into new shoots and which would produce fruit.
This plum tree was suffering from bacterial canker -
not life threatening, just a bit off putting!!
Whilst on the subject of plant problems Barry was given
one of Anita's manky apples from her tree at home and asked to give a diagnosis.
"Apple scab" came back the verdict. (Again - not as bad as it looks.)
Barry showed how sharp his knife blade is by shaving his arm.
Some useful links to information about orchards and orchard management include:
Ripon Walled Garden will be having their annual apple day soon. The details can be seen in the flyer below:
Many thanks to Barry for a great day and to the ladies in the cafe for some wonderful catering. Hopefully we will be able to extend our training with a practical session later in the autumn.
Ros E.
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